1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus capable of converting different television schemes.
2. Related Background Art
Television schemes include an NTSC scheme, a PAL scheme, and a SECAM scheme. These schemes have different image synchronizing signal standards. For example, the PAL standard has 625 scanning lines and a horizontal scanning period of 64 .mu.s, while the NTSC standard has 525 scanning lines and a horizontal scanning period of 63.5 .mu.s. Video equipment such as a video movie camera, an electronic still camera, a video recording/regeneration apparatus are manufactured to comply with one of the television schemes due to differences between the television schemes. One image pickup apparatus cannot obtain video signal outputs of different television schemes.
When an image picked up by a video camera sold in Japan is to be regenerated in Europe, an NTSC image regeneration apparatus and an NTSC television set must be prepared. When an image picked up and recorded by the PAL scheme in Europe is to be regenerated in Japan, a PAL image regeneration apparatus and a PAL television set must be prepared.
Since the PAL and NTSC cameras have different numbers of scanning lines,
and NTSC solid state image pickup elements having different numbers of vertical pixels are used to arrange the corresponding image pickup apparatuses.
In a conventional image pickup apparatus described above, however, NTSC and
solid state image pickup elements must be separately manufactured due to a difference in the number of scanning lines, resulting in increases in development cost and fabrication cost.
Various proposals about television scheme conversion methods have been made by the present assignee, but there is much room left for various improvements.